SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chile was questioned Thursday through a United Nations water rights expert advising that the government could position economic progression in human rights through questionable projects in agriculture and energy.
Leo Heller, un special rapporteur on human rights to blank water and sanitation, said he had called on the government to “clarify” its extensive avocado cultivation in the central coastal region of Valparaiso, as well as the hydroelectric allocation of Alto Maipo to the southeast of the capital, Santiago.
“The Chilean government would meet its human rights obligations abroad if it prioritized economic progress projects over human rights to water and health,” he said in a statement.
“Both projects can jeopardize this source, which is a specific fear of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Chile has gone through one of the worst droughts in 60 years and last year declared a water emergency in Petorca, the center of its avocado trade.
An avocado producer uses more water a day than the daily 50-litre quota set for residents, Heller said, however, the government continues to grant new water rights to agricultural enterprises.
The existing quota for citizens takes into account the common handwashing required to kill the coronavirus, he added.
The Alto Maipo hydroelectric project in the Andes, which dominates the country’s capital, generates electricity by diverting the 3 main tributaries of the Maipo River, about 67 km of tunnels.
Heller said the allocation can have a negative effect on Santiago’s main source of drinking water, but also exacerbate the challenge of the city’s pollutants by damaging the “green corridor” of the Maipo River basin.
Matías Asun, director of Greenpeace in Chile, said that the “severe declaration” is unprecedented. “The government wants to answer that question,” he said.
The Chilean government did not respond to a request for comment.
Reporting through Aislinn Laing; edited through Richard Pullin
All quotes were delayed for at least 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of operations and delays.
© 2020 Reuters. All rights are reserved.